The most common known method of scheduling for radars comprises the following steps and is shown in FIG. 1. First, the scheduler makes a list of tasks that need to be carried out by the radar. Second, the scheduler uses a search algorithm to iteratively work out the best order for the tasks to be performed in for every possible combination of the tasks that need to be carried out. The best order criteria may vary depending on the use or situation of the radar. For example, the search algorithm may primarily look for the quickest possible sequence of tasks, perhaps factoring in whether certain tasks need to be performed in certain orders and whether certain tasks can't be performed at certain times.
A situation in which creating the best order list of tasks is particularly complicated is in naval situations, as shown in FIG. 2, where the platform 210 on which the radar is mounted moves (one position shown as 210a and one position shown as 210b) due to the motion of the sea 200 and radar visibility 220 changes (one position shown as 220a and one position shown as 220b) is limited for certain areas of sky, e.g. point A, at certain points in time.
The major problem with this known scheduling method is that it becomes exponentially harder to compute as the number of tasks increases. Another problem with this known scheduling method is that every time a new task is added to the list of tasks to be performed, the scheduler has to carry out another search to create a new best order list.